Beyond the Algorithm: Reaching a Base That Picks Its Own Podcasts, Newsletters and Creators

A last-minute fight over a farm bill amendment produced an unusual proof of concept this year: a rapid response advocacy campaign built not from a media plan, but from an open call to 30 partners on a single platform.

In an interview with Campaigns & Elections, ConnectBlue’s Bart Myers said the project began with a Monday night call from Lever Communications, the firm owned by longtime Democratic media strategist Joe Trippi.

The firm was working with a client who wanted to quickly reach members of the Senate Agriculture Committee. ConnectBlue posted to its partner network by email and text. About 10 responses came in the same night and by the next day, nine of the 10 were up and running with the effort.

“We [said] this is the goal, this is the outcome we need. What can you do? And what can you do quickly?” Myers said. “And so [within a day] we had an SMS program up, we had a number of direct email opportunities, we had Care doing petitions, and we had a bunch of social media creators out there creating.”

Within 36 hours the effort reached more than five million people and drove upward of 50,000 calls and emails to targeted senators.

The broader thesis: much of the Democratic base has turned to podcasts, Substacks, YouTube creators and brands like Crooked Media and Mother Jones – places Myers contends programmatic buying reaches poorly. Watch the full interview above for more on ConnectBlue’s media marketplace.